The Glory and the Shame
by Fingersnaps
Summary: The team come up against one of their toughest cases as one of their number becomes a target. But who is after Tim, and why...
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Marine Sergeant Alan Lees had been in many life-threatening situations. He had neutralised more that 200 IEDs during three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. His squad members called him Sergeant Freeze because they reckoned he must have ice water flowing through his veins; he was cool and calm under pressure, using everything he had learned in fourteen years in the Corps to minimise risk, to maximise his own, and therefore his team's chances of survival.

He was one of the best at what he did, and he loved doing it, loved the Corps, it had been his family since the day he enlisted at eighteen. He had never known fear, dying was an occupational hazard in his line of work; he had learned to deal with it, he had looked death in the eye on an almost daily basis and never once had he been scared, until now...

**Two days later**

"That is beyond gross!"

"Ya think Tony?" Tim took another photograph, then stepped aside to allow the recently arrived ME access to the body. On arrival Tim had quickly taken fingerprints and confirmed that the body was that of Marine Sergeant Alan Lees; reported UA only yesterday. His did not look to have been an easy death; his face was contorted in an agony that even the effects of early decomposition could not hide. But it was his chest that held the attention of everyone at the scene...or rather what was left of his chest. His breastbone had been cracked open, exposing his inner organs, and his heart...his heart was gone.

"COD shouldn't be a problem Duck."

"Indeed not Jethro, if I took everything at face value, but I will take the Sergeant home and you will have my report in the fullness of time." Ducky removed the liver probe and took another look at Alan Lees' chest. "He's been dead between six and eight hours, and from an initial look I would say that whoever took his heart knew what they were doing. Come along Jimmy, our sergeant has things to tell us."

Jimmy and Ducky carefully secured the body into a black body bag and headed back to NCIS. Gibbs and the others continued the painstaking search of the area around the body. Another derelict building in a rundown area of DC, the body could have remained here undetected for weeks, but a homeless man seeking shelter from a sudden thunderstorm that morning had seen a door slightly ajar, rushed in and almost fallen headlong over the body.

Ziva had spoken to the man, but all he could tell them was that he didn't remember seeing the door open before today. He was still badly shaken by what he had seen, and had been more than willing to accept the offer of coffee and doughnuts from the departing Metro PD officers.

Tony fastened another evidence bag and put it in the crate ready for transport. "You thinking organs for sale Boss?"

"It's possible Tony, but at this stage of an investigation anything is possible. We've done all we can here, and Ducky won't start the autopsy 'til the morning, let's get the evidence logged and call it a day."

The others were keen to get to work on this new case, but they had come here on the back of a twenty-four hour city-wide red alert, and Gibbs knew they would work better after some proper rest.

Tim walked slowly from the parking garage to his apartment, it was a pleasant early summer night, but he was in no mood to take in the night air, he wanted a shower, then sleep. As he put his foot on the steps to the front door of his building he noticed the security light didn't come on, he made a mental note to report it to the building manager…tomorrow would be soon enough. His hand was shaking slightly as he put his key in the door, he must be more tired than he'd thought, a shiver set him trembling even more…he felt…

"Hello, is someone there?" Tim called into the darkness, there was no answer, but he was sure there had been something…he shrugged his shoulders and headed into the building, he felt a little more relaxed once he was in his own apartment; before he headed for the shower, he double-checked all the locks, he was just tired and spooked after seeing Sergeant Lees' body, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

They were all at their desks by 06.30, and it didn't take long for them to discover more about who Alan Lees had been, and what a loss he was to the Marine Corps. Tim put up his list of citations on the plasma and each of them read in silent admiration; Gibbs bowed his head and offered up a promise that he would catch whoever had done this to a hero.

Ducky conducted the autopsy with his usual professionalism and efficiency. The remaining organs were weighed; blood drawn, photographs taken, any unexpected fluids or hairs on his skin were sent to Abby.

Abby quickly ran the blood tests, and with a slight tremor in her voice she had given Ducky the information.

"There were no drugs in his blood Ducky, not even a trace of barbiturate…Ducky, does that mean, you know, he was conscious when the guy who did this started to open his chest?"

Ducky sighed deeply, just when he thought he had seen everything…"Yes my dear, I'm very much afraid that's exactly what it means."

He started his report, ensuring everything was painstakingly recorded; nothing left to chance. When they arrested the bastard who had done this Ducky wanted to be sure that he had done everything necessary to secure a conviction.

Gibbs and his team had been speaking to some of Lees' squad, his commanding officer, members of his family; and so far they could find no reason why Lees had been targeted, if indeed he had…this was already starting to look like a random killing, but as they all knew, looks could be deceiving.

They were back in the squad room, making phone calls, collating what they had so far. Tim had keyed in the information they had on how Sergeant Lees had died and entered them in ViCAP, if there were any other cases like this on record, they should know soon, he really hoped there were no other cases like this one…A man had his heart out cut out while he was still breathing; that was something Tim wouldn't want another person to go through.

He didn't want to waste time waiting for results that may never come, so Tim started running Sergeant Lees' phone records and financials. He was scrolling down the first page of phone records when his computer started sending out intermittent beeps. There couldn't be a ViCAP match already; he clicked on the open tab and found the words ACCESS DENIED filling the screen.

"Boss...we're being shut out!"

"Who McGee, FBI?"

"No...Looks like CIA."

The last initial was barely out of his mouth when the phone sounded on Gibbs' desk.

"Yeah Leon, I thought they might." He put down the phone knowing full well they'd all be watching. "Seems the CIA wants a meeting."

Trent Kort strode purposefully into the Conference Room, this building held no pleasant memories for him and he would have been happier if his Director had given this assignment to someone else; but it had been decided that he was the best man for the job, so here he was opening the door to another confrontation with NCIS. Kort was a little taken aback to see all the members of Gibbs' team waiting inside, but he certainly wasn't going to let anyone see his discomfort, least of all Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"So why is the CIA interfering in my investigation?"

"And a very good day to you Special Agent Gibbs."

"A dead Marine doesn't give me any reason to think this is a good day Kort, not unless you're here to tell me who killed him."

"Then you will be gratified to know that I am here to tell you who is responsible for the death of Sergeant Lees."

Gibbs was on his feet immediately. "I'm listening."

"Not even an offer of refreshments…"

"Damn it Kort! There's a decorated hero lying in Autopsy who had his heart ripped out of his chest; I don't have time to play nice."

"Do you ever?" Kort sat down at the head of the table. "I would like to say it is good to see you all again, but as Gibbs pointed out, this is no time for niceties. I am here to tell you what I can."

He handed Tim a thumb drive. "Agent McGee, would you open the file labelled Lejeune please?"

Tim glanced over at Gibbs and received a nod. He inserted the drive in the Conference Room computer, opened up the file and displayed the contents on the plasma. He handed Kort the remote and sat back down beside Tony. Kort clicked the remote and a headshot of a man in US Army uniform was displayed.

"This is Captain Abel Lejeune, US Army, Silver Star, Bronze Star, two purple hearts; he was found last Monday in Baltimore."

Another click and one of Captain Lejeune's autopsy photographs filled the screen. Ducky sighed. "Another life ended too soon. Was his heart taken?"

"It was."

Tony was losing patience. "Come on Kort, why is the CIA involved in a homicide?"

"Because we think we know who killed him." Kort clicked again and the picture changed to that of a bespectacled man wearing a white lab coat. "Alexander Carlin, a molecular scientist working with Special Projects for the DoD. He was leading a team looking at ways of…altering the human cell structure…make wounds heal faster, allow soldiers to go longer without food, or rest…things seemed to be going well according to Carlin's reports, but then…it would appear that he has gone rogue. He was last seen two months ago, just as the trial volunteers started to exhibit extreme changes in character…"

"Frankenscience…" Abby whispered the word in a tone of disgust.

"Miss Sciuto?" Kort was distinctly unimpressed by the interruption, but Abby wasn't about to hold her tongue.

"You people, you always want to warp science…twist what should be good and pure into something…"

"Abs, enough…let's hear him out."

"But Gibbs…"

"Not now, we have a case, remember?"

Abby was suitably chastened, and she sat quietly as Gibbs sat down beside Kort. "You going to tell us what makes you so sure Carlin is our killer?"

"I believe there was DNA evidence on Lejeune's body. You will find all the information you need on that thumb drive, and when you've seen it you'll know why Carlin is your man…His work involved a number of volunteers, all from the military; initial results seemed to show an improvement in stamina, but it would appear that had less to do with any changes in their cell structure, and more to do with a cocktail of drugs that Carlin was using on them."

"Who was meant to be supervising this guy?"

"Come on Gibbs, do you have any idea how many projects are being worked on at any one time? It's almost impossible to keep track of every one, sometimes a project drops off the radar."

"So why did this one finally come to your attention? Or did you only notice when men started dying?" Ducky was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his anger under control.

"No Doctor Mallard, it was three months ago. One of the volunteers was taken ill and had to be admitted to hospital. His wife came to visit and he didn't even recognise her; then his blood tests showed some…anomalies, and alarm bells started to ring. One of the DoD's top scientists was sent to Carlin's lab, he spent a few days there and everything seemed above board."

"There's a but coming Kort, I know it."

"Correct Agent DiNozzo, four days into his visit Doctor Sarwan was savagely beaten by another of Carlin's volunteers. It was a completely unprovoked attack and by the time they pulled a 240 pound Marine off him the doctor was already unconscious."

"Did he recover?" Ducky's initial anger was giving way to concern that there may be more deaths to be laid at Carlin's door.

"He will eventually, which is more than can be said for Sergeant Jarrom; he has an inoperable brain tumour. The medics give him less than six months…"

"Was the cancer triggered by the drugs?"

"It seems likely, another volunteer has early stage leukaemia, they're hopeful they've caught it in time."

Gibbs couldn't sit still any longer, he started pacing the floor. "What about Carlin, was he allowed to carry on?"

"No! His programme was suspended immediately, and all his files were confiscated. There was a debriefing scheduled, but…"

"He never showed, big surprise Kort. You should have had him arrested."

"For what Gibbs? Bad science…that's all it was at that stage."

Tim had only glanced briefly at the autopsy picture of Lieutenant Lejeune, but he took a good look now. "Looks like it's gone beyond science…that's cold blooded murder."

"Agreed Agent McGee, and that is why I have been authorised to speak with you. Gibbs, you have another question?"

"Do you have any idea why he's removing the hearts?"

"Doctor Sarwan suspects that Carlin has been experimenting on himself…but he could find no proof. Obviously the balance of his mind is seriously disturbed; it's hard to see any sane reasoning behind what he's doing."

Tony gave a derisory laugh. "Come on Kort, you're not telling us Carlin's turned into a movie cliché…the mad scientist."

"How would you describe this DiNozzo?" Kort glanced at the screen. "It suggests to me that Alexander Carlin has crossed that fine line between genius and insanity."

"Not just crossed it Kort, he's gone miles beyond the line…So give me something I can use, tell me where we can find Carlin."

"I wish I could Gibbs, we lost track of him just over two months ago."

"So where was he then?"

"Houston, Texas; he was sighted trying to gain access to one of the DoD facilities in the city, but his ID had been suspended, so he couldn't get in, since then, there had been nothing, until the Lejeune killing. And now…we suspect given the condition of your sergeant, that he was in DC three days ago."

"That's all you've got?"

"Like I said, everything you need is in those files." Kort got up and walked to the door, he turned around to face them all. "We are all aware of your opinion on apologies Gibbs, but I truly am sorry these brave men died as they did, and I wish you every success in finding the man who killed them."

As the door closed behind him Tony gave a grimace. "Why is it I always feel like I need a shower after I've been near that guy?"

Tim took the thumb drive down to Abby's lab and they got started dividing up the files. Forensic reports for Abby, Lejeune's autopsy report for Ducky, names of volunteers and associates of Carlin for Gibbs, Tony and Ziva. Tim was given the task of trying to find any links between the two victims, other than their grisly deaths.

The consensus of those who knew him was that Carlin had a brilliant, but brittle mind. His academic career had been stellar. He was a qualified doctor at nineteen, a Ph. D at twenty-one; a seamless move into the research sector had seen him winning awards both for his insightful experiments and his published papers. But there had been instances of a volatile personality, one who suffered fools not at all, and by fools Carlin meant anyone who didn't come close to his own exacting standards. He had been disciplined more than once for using physical violence at work, but his employers usually managed to hide things under the carpet, he was too valuable an asset to be lost to the private sector. So he'd been moved to a smaller project, one that gave him the kind of autonomy he craved, but which had ultimately led to his loss of control.

"Told you, mad scientist."

"Tony, why must you relate everything to a movie? This man…he has taken two lives…two hearts…do you see anything sane in that, because I cannot."

Gibbs shook his head slightly. "Maybe he's not mad, could be that's he's evil, have you two thought of that? Maybe he does this just because he can."

They had been throwing ideas back and forth, trying to get a handle on the man who had become a monster.

"Hey McSilence, you got any dazzling insights for us?" Tony had been so intent on his portrayal of Alexander Carlin as the archetypal scientist turned crazy loon that he'd only just noticed Tim hadn't said a word. He was bent over his keyboard, his eyes occasionally flicking to his monitor. Gibbs made his stealthy way to Tim's desk and Tony smiled as he waited for the head slap to be administered. But instead Gibbs asked quietly.

"Tim, is there a problem?"

"Problem? No Boss, I found something the victims have in common…"

"So share it with us McGee, put it on the plasma."

Tim clicked the remote and three headshots were displayed, Lees, Lejeune, and Carlin. Ziva looked puzzled.

"Carlin is not a victim McGee."

"But he has things in common with our victims, height, age, eye colour…and there's another thing…"


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"You waiting for a magic word McGee?"

"They're all 6'1", born 1977, green eyes…"

All eyes turned toward Tim, he would have felt uncomfortable under their scrutiny, but he was focussed on one other thing the men had in common. "Boss, they all have the same blood group."

"Put it on the screen Tim." Gibbs' gut was already starting to send out warning signals, but he wanted confirmation.

Tim clicked the remote and displayed the victim's medical reports; he'd highlighted the blood groups – AB Rh Positive. "Same as Carlin." Tim tried to keep his voice neutral, but they all picked up the slight tremor as he spoke.

"You okay?"

Tim hesitated just long enough for Gibbs to know something was wrong. "Tim, tell me."

"AB Positive...it's pretty rare, just over 3% of the population has it..."

"Do you?"

"Yeah." He clicked the remote and Carlin's medical record appeared beside those of Lejeune and Lees. Tony gave a low whistle.

"How does he find his victims? If these aren't random killings, if he's getting medical data on military personnel…he's doing this for a reason."

Gibbs cast a questioning glance at Tim. "Not sure Boss, if I had access to his files maybe I could see where his research was headed...Boss."

"Spit it out Tim."

"I know the DoD won't release Carlin's files, but if I could get a look at his emails, maybe I could get something."

Gibbs knew exactly what Tim was telling him. "You need a get out of jail card?"

Tim smiled briefly and shook his head. "Not this time Boss. If I could get something on Carlin, I'd happily do jail time."

"It won't come to that; we'd all be chipping in to your defence fund."

"Well, that wasn't needed last time, so with luck..." Tim was already clicking away on his keyboard, Gibbs turned again to the plasma and the medical records.

"Tony, Ziva start searching for any sudden deaths of men born in 1977 with that blood group."

"Sure Boss. DC? Tri-State?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nationwide Tony, this guy's had two months off the grid, he could have been anywhere."

"On it."

"Jethro, I don't have anything for you at this stage; I only received Lieutenant Lejeune's autopsy report an hour ago, although I can tell you the poor man suffered the same agony as Sergeant Lees."

"No anaesthesia?"

"Correct."

Gibbs pulled up a chair and sat beside his old friend. "Carlin is one sick bastard; we're going to get him Duck."

"I am certain you will Jethro, and if there is anything in the report that can help you, I will let you know right away."

"I know that…I'm not here about the report, not directly. Did you notice the similarities between the two victims?"

"I did indeed; they were uncannily alike, regarding stature, age, and blood group."

"Eye colour?"

Ducky quickly scanned the report. "Green, yes that too."

"Same as Carlin...do you think he's targeting men like him?"

"If he's attempting any kind of organ transplant he would obviously require a tissue match, as for the rest...perhaps in the dark recesses of his mind Carlin is searching for men who share more than simply AB Positive blood."

"And if it doesn't work this time...Lees' heart, if it doesn't do whatever Carlin wants."

Ducky sighed. "Then I fear he will search out another victim, one he sees as a mirror of himself."

"That's what I figured; I think McGee has it figured too."

"Timothy, well yes, he does have a fine analytical mind, oh Jethro! How stupid of me...Timothy shares all those characteristics, right down to the rare blood, I remember commenting upon it when I first saw his medical file. Are you suggesting he could be a target?"

"He fits all the criteria."

"Except for the military connection."

"Yeah, there is that…"

"But your gut is telling you there could be danger."

"Not sure if it's my gut or if I'm getting cautious in my old age."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Nothing right now Duck, Tim will be here all day, he's trying to get into Carlin's emails. After work, if we don't get Carlin, he stays at my place."

Gibbs had left Ducky to continue reading the Lejeune autopsy report, and headed out for some fresh air and coffee. When he got back to the squad room it only took one look at Tony and Ziva for him to see they had something. Tony was on his feet the minute he heard the elevator doors open.

"Boss, you have to see this."

Gibbs had spotted the empty desk. "Where's McGee?"

"He went down to Abby's lab, said he needed another computer, and we were using ours."

Ziva silently noted Gibbs' concern over McGee's absence. "We have found more victims Gibbs, all sharing the other common factors." She pointed to the screen; Gibbs drew a sharp breath, there were three driving licence pictures.

"Did they all have their hearts cut out?"

"No, and there was no DNA evidence on the bodies, that is why the CIA had not made a connection to these other cases."

"Tell me."

"Nate Waldron; found floating in the Arkansas River near Little Rock, his body had been drained of blood…Alan Franklin; he was killed the same way, his body was discovered in a roadside ditch outside Johnson City, Tennessee, again the cause of death was exsanguination, but there was no obvious stab wound."

"Same as Waldron Boss, all the MEs found was a small puncture mark on their arms."

"Who's the other guy Tony?" Gibbs had already noted that each of the victims had green eyes.

"Simon Oates, Staunton, Virginia. He was stabbed multiple times, probably with a scalpel, left lying in his own blood…nothing taken from him."

"What? Carlin went to all the trouble of finding another match and then just butchered him, what was so different about Oates, wrong blood group?"

"No Boss, but he had Hepatitis C, maybe our freaky friend doesn't want infected blood."

"Maybe…I'll check with Ducky later. Any of these men have links with the military?"

"We have only just begun background checks Gibbs, but so far there is no obvious connection."

"Then we take a name each and dig deeper."

Abby had been watching Tim surreptitiously as he worked over the keyboards, he had barely said a word, and she was loathe to interrupt his train of thought, but he hadn't had anything to eat all day, and she was getting concerned. "Tim, I have a sandwich for you, Tony even paid, if you can believe that."

He glanced up from the monitor, and she could see the tension in his face. "Abs, could you get Gibbs down here, he should see this."

Abby called Gibbs, she also called Ducky, Tim had shaken his head when she tried to make him eat, perhaps Ducky would be more persuasive. Gibbs, accompanied by Tony and Ziva arrived just as Ducky was walking into the lab. "I believe Timothy has something to tell us, but first I insist he eats something; don't argue young man, I would like to hear more, whatever you have can wait a few minutes. Jethro, do you have any other links between our victims?"

"No military connection, they didn't know each other, nothing we've discovered links any of them to Carlin, how he found them we don't know yet, but Tony thinks he knows why they were chosen, aside from the obvious reasons."

"Waldron and Oates were marathon runners, 2 hour 20 minutes guys…they were good, at the peak of their health, except for Oates' Hep C. Franklin, he was a personal trainer at a health spa, triathlete in his spare time…these guys were serious about keeping fit, I guess Carlin was looking at the top of the line for his organ transplant…"

Tim quickly swallowed the last mouthful of his sandwich, and shook his head. "I don't think he wanted the organs for transplant…I found email correspondence with an author in England who was writing a book, it's about something called corpse medicine…back in the Seventeenth Century some people used stuff like a powder to cure arthritis that was scrapings of an unburied human skull, mixed with herbs and white wine."

"That's disgusting!"

"Maybe Tony, but they were different times, and is it any more disgusting than thinking crushed rhino horn can help your sex drive?"

"Hey, I've never…"

Tim couldn't help smiling. "Not you specifically Tony, I just meant taking weird stuff like this is not necessarily a thing of thepast."

"Indeed it is not Timothy, and I have heard of these bizarre treatments; apparently King Charles II took an infusion of crushed human skull to try and stave off his final illness, but they used skulls from dead bodies, they didn't go around killing healthy people. Are you certain about this?"

"Yeah, Carlin was interested in finding any cases where someone had been killed to order for medical purposes, not organ donations, he was definite about that…it was round about then that the tone of his emails changed. He started to mention an elixir, corresponded with experts in medieval history, asked questions about alchemy, the elixir of life, all kinds of weird stuff, he didn't get many replies."

"Go figure." Tony stood beside Tim and tried to get a look at the screen. "So Carlin wasn't looking for blood for transfusion because he's sick, he wanted to drink it?"

"Honestly Tony? I don't know, without access to all of his files I'm only guessing, but it's possible he's trying to develop an elixir to prolong his life, he could be physically sick, or maybe he's out of his mind."

"There is no maybe, he must be insane to do such things."

"You could be right Ziva, but insane or not, somehow Carlin is seeking out, and finding men who share a very particular set of characteristics; Jethro, I think it is time to consider how we deal with Timothy's situation."

Tim looked up in genuine surprise. "My situation…I don't have one. I admit when I first found out about the age and blood thing it was a bit…hinky, but the more we find out about the victims the less I think he'll be interested in me. Look at them, super-fit athletes, decorated war heroes, I don't exactly fit the bill, so I guess I'm not Carlin's type."

"Heart of a lion Tim…I wasn't kidding when I said that, don't sell yourself short, you're plenty brave enough for me." Tony patted Tim on the shoulder. "We've got your six Tim, like you've always had ours."

"He is right McGee, whatever Carlin is looking for; we will make sure he does not find it in you. If he comes close, I will do more than kick his ass."

Abby pulled up her chair beside Tim and reached over to give him a hug. Gibbs made his decision. "We're not taking chances Tim, Carlin's been making his way toward DC the whole time, we know he was here just a couple of days ago, if he's still here, and he's still looking for…whatever the hell it is he's looking for; you're coming home with me tonight, and one of us stays with you until we find Carlin."

"Boss, I…" Tim's protest died on his lips, he'd seen that look before. Gibbs was in no mood for an argument, so he smiled and resigned himself to a night on Gibbs' couch.

"You got everything you need Tim?"

"I'm good Boss, thanks."

"Then get some sleep, and you can get back to Carlin's emails tomorrow."

Gibbs checked the locks and headed upstairs to bed. Tim had been keen to stay longer at NCIS, he was convinced he'd be able to recover some of Carlin's files from his email account, but the password was proving elusive, so Gibbs had called time, and sent everyone home for the night. Most times he didn't have any objections to working through the night, but for this case he wanted everyone on their toes, and for that they all needed rest.

This isn't right...the smell, it was a hospital smell, but he was with McGee at home; why did it smell like a hospital? Someone was talking, and it wasn't McGee.

"Jethro, can you hear me?"

Gibbs could hear Ducky, but he seemed to be far away.

"Open your eyes Jethro, we need you."

Gibbs was starting to focus now, and he could see the fear in Ducky's eyes; he tried to sit up, to look around the room, but he knew he wouldn't see him...he reached out his hand. "Tim..."

Ducky shook his head. "He's gone..."

This isn't right...the smell, it was a hospital smell...but he was at Gibbs' house, sleeping on the couch...why did it smell like a hospital?

He opened his eyes and tried to figure out why he was in a hospital, he remembered finally falling asleep, after that there was nothing…so why was he lying on a hospital bed? No, not a bed, it was cold, metal like the tables in autopsy. He turned his head to see who was here with him, they wouldn't leave him alone…Gibbs had promised…His vision was blurred and it seemed to take an age to focus, and when he did he wished he was still unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

He tried to sit up, to get a better look at the room, but his hands were bound by restraints, ankles too, he was strapped down on the table…where was Gibbs? Had they hurt him? Tim quickly looked to either side, but deep down he knew Gibbs wouldn't be here, they'd done something to him...a slight shiver ran through Tim's body, please let Gibbs be okay, please let them find me before it's too late…

Tim took a deep breath, it was time to take stock…he lifted his head and looked around, this was no hospital, at least not like one he had ever seen. He could make out medical equipment, sharp blades, retractors, some kind of electric drill...suddenly he was finding it hard to breathe, was that what Carlin used when he opened the chests of Lees and Lejeune? Tim quickly turned his head away, but the view was no better, there was a small glass-fronted refrigerator holding plastic bottles of…blood. Tim pulled hard at the leather straps, he had to get away from here, he could smell death…and he was next. But hard as he tried, and he tried so hard he could feel the straps cutting into his flesh, still he couldn't move…

A door opened somewhere, and Tim heard soft footsteps shuffling across the floor, then he saw him...Alexander Carlin, Tim's first thought was, he looks so ordinary, why didn't he look like the sick monster he truly was? His dark rimmed glasses made him look more like a blonde version of Clark Kent before he transformed into Superman, this was so wrong…Tim felt his heart racing, Carlin was carrying a hypodermic, but he didn't use anaesthesia, why did he have the needle? Maybe he wasn't going to have his heart taken, maybe this time Carlin needed more blood.

"Awake at last McGee? That's good, a few more minutes and you'll be ready..."

Carlin put down the hypodermic in a stainless steel dish and picked up a blood pressure cuff. Tim couldn't hide a shiver as Carlin's fingers made contact with his skin, they seemed cold and clammy, Tim felt the goosebumps all over his body as Carlin wrapped the cuff around his arm.

"What do you want from me?"

"Come now Agent McGee, let's not pretend. You've been studying me; you know exactly what I want."

"Jethro, perhaps you should stay longer; at least until the test results are back, whatever you inhaled, there could be side effects." Ducky was concerned by Gibbs' lack of coordination, and his extreme pallor.

"I don't have time to wait, Tim doesn't have time." Gibbs was sitting on the edge of his bed, he wasn't sure he trusted his legs to hold him upright, but he had to try. "Duck, you know as well as I do what that bastard is going to do to Tim, I can't lie here and let that happen."

Ducky held out his arm. "Then lean on me Jethro, I'll take you back to NCIS, but please, if you feel any nausea or headache, let me know."

"I can't stop Duck, he's one of my people, I have to find him."

"Director Vance has everyone working Jethro, we will find Timothy." Ducky left unsaid what they were both thinking. Would they find Tim alive, or would his body turn up somewhere, just like the others?

"It's not happening again Duck, I'm not losing another one…if only the CIA had come clean earlier…"

If only...Ducky wondered how many times in Jethro's life he had uttered those words; so many regrets, so much loss.

"Blood pressure is a little high, but that's to be expected, you've had quite a shock haven't you Agent McGee? Now I have one more test to perform before we can begin. For this we will have to loosen the restraints, but my associates will be here to ensure that you don't make any attempt to get away."

Tim watched as two men approached the table, they looked to be built of solid muscle, in his current condition, heck even on his best days, he wouldn't be able to take them both on…so he lad to lie powerless as they unbuckled the straps and turned him onto his side.

"Why are you doing this? I don't have anything you need…Lees and Lejeune, they had courage…I…I'm not like them…"

Carlin's laugh was sharp and spiteful. "You are very much mistaken Agent McGee, you have something that few other people can offer. As you know only too well, I have been collecting the component parts of my great discovery for some months; I have the stamina, the courage, the endurance, all that is lacking is the intellect. I have been searching for so long, striving to find the perfect compound…everything I know, everything I feel tells me I am close to achieving my dream."

"You're insane! Listen to yourself…you're man of science, this is comic book stuff, it's not real."

Carlin leaned in very close. "You would do well not to argue McGee, I am about to achieve the greatest scientific breakthrough known to mankind, you should be proud that I have chosen you to be part of it. You must stay very still, as I'm sure you are aware by now, I cannot corrupt my…ingredients with drugs, so this will hurt somewhat…" He glanced up at the two men. "Hold him down; any movement could ruin the test."

Four strong arms gripped Tim; he couldn't move however much he wanted. He felt Carlin's hands on his back, and drew in an involuntary gasp as the needle pierced his skin, and he realised what Carlin was doing. As the needle plunged further into his back, he felt hot tears stinging his eyes; it wasn't just the pain although that was bad enough, if Carlin was doing a lumbar puncture, testing the spinal fluid, it could mean only one thing…Tim wanted to scream, to run away from the needle, but he knew that even the smallest movement could result in paralysis, and so long as there was any chance that Gibbs and the others would find him, he was going to try and stay alive…

After what seemed like an eternity the needle was removed, and Tim was rolled over on to his back, the restraints were buckled once more, he tried to steady his breathing…Carlin leaned over him and Tim steeled himself to show no emotion as he felt Carlin's fingers at his neck, checking his pulse, then he caught a glimpse of cold green eyes seconds before a blinding light flicked from the left eye to the right.

"Good, very good...you are a fine specimen, trim and fit, everything I could hope for, and I know you have a first rate brain. That's what I have to take, you know that don't you?"

Tim knew his heart rate had increased, he felt hot, so hot…then he felt the bile rising in his throat, quickly he turned his head, and threw up the meagre contents of his stomach.

"Clear that up Martin." Carlin showed no emotion as he turned again to Tim. "Don't over excite yourself, you must remain calm, the test results will soon be ready, then I can begin the harvest."

"How long Tony?" Gibbs didn't need to elaborate.

"It's 11.20 now; we went to your house at 06.10 when we couldn't get a reply from either of your phones."

"I went to bed a little after midnight, Carlin could have had Tim for almost twelve hours…Tony, did you find anything at my place?"

"We figure Carlin used some kind of odourless gas, one of the air vents had been removed recently, but there was no canister, whatever he used Carlin took with him. There was no other evidence…it's like Tim just disappeared."

Gibbs swallowed more of the coffee that had been waiting for him at his desk, his head was clearer now, but he still couldn't remember anything out of the ordinary about last night. "Carlin's not working alone Tony, I don't care what Kort said; there is no way Carlin could have set up the gas and taken Tim on his own, he's working with someone, he has to be."

"Director Vance feels the same way, he called the CIA, Kort is on his way."

"Ziva, you got anything?"

"There are few traffic cameras around your home Gibbs, the pictures we were able to obtain have not shown any trace of McGee…Gibbs, when Kort gets here, I could question him if you wish; I have not forgotten what I learned in Mossad."

"I can't pretend I was expecting a warm welcome, but threats of torture? Agent David, there is no necessity; I have been instructed to read you in…"

Tony knew it was wrong, he knew it wouldn't help Tim, but he couldn't help himself. As his fist slammed into Kort's jaw a brief wave of satisfaction flowed through him.

"Agent DiNozzo, enough!" Vance's shout echoed around the stunned squad room. "Let's take this to my office, now."

They rushed up to Vance's office, and it was an uneasy group that gathered around the table. Gibbs hated having to deal with Kort again, but they needed him if they were going to find Tim.

"Talk to me Kort. You know as well as I that Carlin could not do this alone…what have you been hiding from us?"

Kort cradled his chin and slowly rubbed the spot where Tony had struck him, He hadn't been surprised by the blow, the only shock had been that Tony got in before Gibbs. "I wasn't hiding anything, as I told you at our previous meeting; I gave you all the information I could. I had not been read into the rest of the file."

"But now…"

"Now I can tell you about the two men who the Agency believes are travelling with Carlin. Two of the volunteers were US Army, Special Ops, it seems that Carlin took a particular interest in them, our experts think Carlin gave them placebos, maybe he already knew there were problems with the drugs so he kept them safe. The men you want are Simon Costello and Martin Bicknell; I have their service records here."

"Anything else you've been keeping from us Kort? And don't lie to me again, because you didn't have Carlin arrested when you had the chance one of my people is missing…you know why Carlin wants McGee, you know what he'll do if we don't stop him."

"You can hit me again if you want Gibbs, but I swear to you, I didn't know anything about these men; the full details on Carlin's projects are known to people way above my pay grade…I can't speak for the Agency, but if I can help in any way."

Vance stepped in before Gibbs' fragile hold on his self-control slipped. "NCIS can look out for our own people Kort; if you have nothing more to tell us I suggest you get the hell out of my office, and out of my agency."

Within minutes of Kort's departure Vance had every available agent working on the new suspects. BOLOs were issued on Bicknell and Costello, and the BOLO on Carlin was updated to include his accomplices.

As he took his place back at his desk Gibbs glanced at his watch, how much more time did Tim have before Carlin started his butchery, before his chest was split open?

"Tony, the other deaths, aside from Oates, was there blood evidence at the scenes?"

"Nothing Boss, they were all dump sites…"

"Then where were they killed? With Lees and Lejeune, there had to be blood. Did any of the local LEOs find the crime scenes, anyone report finding blood stains on their property, anything?"

Ziva and Tony quickly scanned the reports from the various law enforcement departments who had dealt with the other deaths.

"They found no evidence Gibbs; so where did these men die?"

"That's a good question Ziva, how about you find me an answer."

Tony clicked the remote and put on the plasma the map showing where the victims had been found. "Boss, this may sound crazy; but what if Carlin and the others were on the move the whole time…would there be enough room in a truck or an RV to do what they did?"

Gibbs picked up his phone. "I don't know Tony, but I'm going to find out…Duck, I've got a question."

Carlin and the others men had left the room and Tim was alone…he had no idea how long they'd been gone…maybe he blacked out for a while. He made another attempt to free himself from the restraints, but they were fastened on as tight as before…he could do nothing to help himself, all he could do was hope and pray that Gibbs was okay, and that they were looking for him…how much time did he have? When the test results came back clear, Carlin would start work on getting what he wanted. Tim took a few shuddering breaths as he thought of his what was to come…how long would he remain conscious when they were cutting open his skull? How long before blissful oblivion took away the pain forever?

There had to be something he could do…the table, he could use the table. Tim lifted his head slightly to make sure he was still alone, no one else around…it was now or never, he lifted his head as far as he could from the table, took a deep breath and slammed his head back down, the noise echoed all round the room, or was it only echoing in his head? No one came, Tim tried again, if he did it often enough, maybe he'd damage the very thing Carlin was after…he turned slightly to one side and tried again…it was hurting, but he was still conscious.

Tim grew more frantic in his attempts to render himself useless to Carlin, but he simply couldn't apply enough force…

"What the hell are you doing?"

Tim saw the fist coming toward him; he felt the impact and was sent into the blissful state of unconsciousness he had craved.

"Simon, why did you hit him so hard? I just wanted him to stop, and now you've made things worse."

"Guess it's like you said before Alex, I don't know my own strength; you'll still be able to use him, won't you? It took us so long to find him, and you said his brain tissue would be the final ingredient to make the elixir work."

Carlin's anger died as quickly as it had sprung into life, Simon and Martin had been with him through so much, they had done things for him that he would never have been able to do for himself. He checked Tim's pulse...a little erratic, but nothing to worry about.

"He'll be okay, I will have to do another lumbar puncture, make sure there's no blood in the spinal fluid, then we can start the procedure."

Costello heaved a sigh of relief; he had put all his trust, his hopes for the future in Carlin's hands. He had gone way too far to back out now. "Do you want us to get the instruments ready?"

Carlin shook his head. "We should wait for the test results; let's go get something to eat and we'll be ready when McGee comes round."

The clock moved on relentlessly and Gibbs could feel the frustration growing, not just in his team, but all round the agency. Every minute that passed without news of Tim's whereabouts was a minute closer to his death…Gibbs refused to believe that Tim had been killed already, surely he would feel it if one of his team was dead, and he didn't feel it, so they kept on looking.

Ducky had confirmed that the first two deaths could have occurred in a vehicle, but the last two…

"There simply would not be enough space Jethro, Carlin would need sophisticated medical equipment, if he had assistance, they would require room to work. In order to carry out such complex procedures even as crudely as he did, would require a fully equipped operating room."

They had discovered that Costello owned a beat-up RV that he'd barely used since he joined the Army. It wasn't at his home now, and had been added to the BOLO. So many BOLOs out there, and not one single sighting in the last 24 hours…where were they?

Vance had told them that cyber crimes had discovered a breach in the NCIS firewall, someone had hacked into the personnel files, several files had been accessed, but Gibbs was convinced that had been done simply to cover their tracks, there was only one file they were interested in, and they'd found it…they had known everything about Tim for five days, even as they were dumping the body of Sergeant Lees, they were searching for their next victim.

"How do they move around cities like Baltimore and DC without being seen Boss? It's like they're invisible."

"Special Ops Tony, Costello and Bicknell have had years of training in covert operations, their lives depend on not being seen. With their help Carlin can move around completely unnoticed."

"Then how do we find McGee? We cannot leave him out there with these…fiends."

"We keep doing what we're doing Ziva."

"Special Agent Gibbs?" The voice was so quiet Gibbs almost missed it in the noise of the squad room; he looked up into the nervous face of a young man who seemed vaguely familiar.

"You want something?"

"I...you probably don't remember me, I'm Aaron Fox...cyber crimes." Now Gibbs remembered, he'd seen Fox in the basement when Tim was working down there; he tried to give a reassuring smile, and Fox continued. "The Director asked us to help Ms Sciuto with the background checks on Costello and Bicknell, I think I found something."

"You think?"

"I know what I have Agent Gibbs, but I'm not an investigator, I don't know if it's as significant as I hope..."

"Ziva, Tony, Abby's lab now." He grabbed Fox by the arm. "With me, let's see what you've got."


	4. Chapter 4

10

CHAPTER FOUR

Aaron Fox stood at the keyboard and nervously started to type. Pictures of two large properties flicked into life on the screen.

"Bicknell, his father…stepfather owned properties in Virginia and Maryland; he sold most of them when his wife died. But there are two places he couldn't sell; he took them off the market six weeks ago – Ellison Sanatorium, and Broad Meadow Nursing Home."

Tony peered at the pictures, could Tim be in one of these places? "Ducky said they needed medical equipment, and the room to use it…Which one is nearest to the city?"

"Ellison Sanatorium, it's twenty miles north, Broad Meadow is sixty miles away…"

Gibbs hesitated for a moment. "We'll take the sanatorium, Carlin would stay close to DC…he'd want to be near his prey. Abs, send the co-ordinates to the car; I'll call Leon to get the local LEOs to check out the nursing home. It's our first break people, let's get ready to move."

Five minutes later Aaron Fox was heading back to the basement with a broad smile on his face; Gibbs had told him he'd done great work, and he knew from what Tim had told them about his boss that praise like that didn't come lightly. Then the thought of Tim and what he could be going through wiped the smile from his face...please let this be the place...let him be okay.

"You know Agent McGee, you really should try to relax, this will hurt so much less if you are not too tense."

Tim couldn't believe what he was hearing, he had two brutes holding him down to a stainless steel table, his spine was being punctured for the second time in preparation to having his skull opened and Carlin wanted him to relax, he really must be crazy…

"I'm pretty sure the test will be clear, so we're going to get you ready for the harvest, and this way I know you won't hurt yourself again."

Carlin carefully placed the hypodermic on a sterile tray. "That should be sufficient. You can start prepping him, I want to get started as soon as I'm able…this is what we've been waiting for, a brain such as his, think of the power my friends."

As Tim was turned onto his back once more, and the restraints were fastened, he caught sight of the faces of his captors. They looked like the kind of men you would want on your side in a fight…is that why Carlin chose them? But why would they go along with him? Tim had to know.

"Why? Please…why are you doing this? You have to know it's wrong"

The taller of the two men laughed quietly. "See Simon, it's just like I told you, they always try to put down the real pioneers of science."

"He's not a pioneer, he's a murderer, and he's dragged you along with him…you won't get away with this, they'll come for me, and when they do, even if I'm…if it's too late for me, they'll hunt you down…"

"And do what? When we drink the elixir, we'll be unbeatable...you should have seen the others, getting stronger every day, and they weren't even being given this new formula."

Tim could hear metal objects being put on metal trays…it was getting closer, he had to try and buy every minute he could. "Listen to yourself, there is no elixir…those men, they weren't getting stronger because of Carlin's work, he was pumping them full of drugs, they're sick...dying. The elixir, it's a fantasy, and deep down you know that, you have to, you're not crazy like Carlin."

Tim saw the raised fist and waited for the blow.

"Steady Martin…you know Alex won't want you damaging the donor."

"I'm not a donor! I'm not giving anything to you, you're stealing from me, and you'll kill me to do it…remember who you were before Carlin got to you, this is so wrong."

"Pity we don't have a gag Martin, he's suddenly found his voice…they always do that, right at the end, they all start talking, begging to live. Do you know how many men we've killed McGee? You think Nate Waldron was the first? He wasn't even the twenty-first, and all that killing was done in the name of freedom, for my country, and what does my country want to do with me? I'll tell you what; they want to put me out to pasture…not fast enough any longer, so they don't want me…or Martin, that's why they sent us to Alex's programme. He gave us back our lives McGee, and those lives are going to be good and long. Now; it's time for a little haircut."

Tim slumped back in despair, he couldn't hold out much longer, he was weak from lack of fluids, his back ached, his wrists and ankles throbbed, and he was honest enough to admit, if only to himself…he was scared.

Bicknell held Tim still as Costello shaved his head. Maybe if he hit his head now, he could do more damage; but he never got the chance. A metal brace was clamped over his skull, and it was secured to the table…he was done for now, without help he was going to die.

"Go Gibbs, bring him back safe."

"Abby, I need everything you can get me on the layout of the Sanatorium,"

"There should be a web site somewhere, if they haven't taken it down, but I could still get to the cache memory."

Satisfied that he had given Abby something to keep her mind off Tim, even if only for a short time; Gibbs headed for the parking lot.

Gibbs and the team were already on the road by the time Fox took his place back at his computer. Ducky and Jimmy were following behind, hoping against hope that it would be their skills as doctors that were required rather than their skills as medical examiners.

The Sanatorium was set well back from the road and surrounded by mature grounds full of trees and shrubs; the perfect cover for them to get close to the main building without being seen.

Abby had come good, and they knew exactly where the doctor's surgery was located. Ducky had confirmed it as the most likely place for Carlin to operate.

"Duck, you wait outside with Jimmy until I call."

"But Jethro, Timothy may need immediate medical assistance."

"You're no good to him if you get hurt; I'll call as soon as we're clear."

"Very well, take care Jethro...all of you."

Tony was already in position at the rear entrance; on Gibbs' mark they went in. Either Carlin was supremely arrogant and had never expected anyone to find this place, or he was careless, either way the doors were unlocked, and they made their way to the surgery without encountering any opposition.

Gibbs and Ziva stood with guns drawn as Tony opened the door that would lead them to the doctor's outer office. They made no sound as they walked quietly past numerous glass phials stacked neatly in stainless steel trays. None of them wanted to think too much about what might be contained in them...a single nod from Gibbs and they were focussed again, and this time on the door they were certain would lead them to Carlin, and more important, to Tim.

Tim hadn't screamed as Carlin drew the scalpel blade across his scalp; he figured this pain was nothing compared with what was to come. He had given up fighting against the restraints; all he could do now was wait. He could feel the warm blood spill out, how many incisions before they started to use the drill Bicknell was holding to bore into his skull? Please let me pass out before that happens...

"Drop that now!"

Carlin disappeared from Tim's eye line, and he almost shouted out with joy – Gibbs was here, he was okay! They'd found him, he was getting out of here...but Carlin wasn't done.

"Deal with these intruders, I have work to do."

Tim caught a glimpse of the scalpel blade, then a single gunshot echoed round the room, he heard the scalpel drop to the floor...Bicknell and Costello were screaming 'No!' There was the sound of a brief struggle then two more gunshots rang out.

"Damn it Kort, they weren't armed!" Gibbs had been so intent on Carlin, on stopping him inflicting even more pain on Tim; he hadn't even heard Kort enter the room. He'd deal with that later, right now Tim needed help.

"Ziva, go get Ducky, and call for an ambulance."

Now Tim could see another face leaning over him, a friendly face. "Don't try to talk...wait for Ducky. We'll untie the straps, but I don't want you to move. The...the thing on your head, let Ducky see it...I don't want to hurt you any more; can you stay still a little longer Tim?"

Every fibre in Tim's body wanted to run from this place, but he knew he was safe now, he could wait..."Okay...Boss...thanks..." He could feel hot tears stinging his eyes as the restraints were unfastened.

"Hey McKojak, I told you that look didn't work for you."

Tony was reverting to his default setting, when life gets too hard, make a joke...what he'd seen when they opened the door had been something he knew he would never forget. He had been filled with a desire to kill such as he had never experienced before in his life. None of that mattered now; all that mattered was that they'd arrived in time. "Ducky's here Tim, not long..."

Tony stepped back and let Ducky and Jimmy get to work. Very gently they loosened the skull fixation device, all the time Ducky was whispering to Tim, attempting to stave off the inevitable shock that he knew would come.

"Steady now Timothy, you must stay still for me...I want to check this wound, here we go...don't struggle, it's just Jimmy applying some gauze to stop the bleeding...we'll have you at the hospital soon."

Tim turned toward Ducky, his eyes filled with fear, his breath coming in short gasps. "No...not hospital, not after...this..."

Ducky glanced around the room, at this travesty of a place that had once been home to healers; small wonder Tim didn't want to spend any more time in a place that even vaguely resembled this one.

"Jimmy, a blanket and the oxygen please." Ducky could feel the tremors beginning. "Timothy, can you tell me, did Carlin do anything else?"

Tim thought hard…there was something. "He...he…lumbar puncture…two…"

Ducky winced. "Did he use local anaesthesia?"

"No…Ducky, get me out of this nightmare...please."

"Very soon Timothy. I'm going to put an oxygen mask on you, to help with your breathing, and then I want you to do one more thing for me if you can."

Ducky glanced at Jimmy and saw the concern in his eyes. Not only did they both know how painful those procedures must have been, they also knew the possible consequences if they had not been performed correctly. Jimmy quickly covered Tim with the blanket; he knew it wouldn't help much, but even a very little was better than nothing. He hurried to the foot of the table and at a signal from Ducky, held his palms against the soles of Tim's feet.

Ducky held tight to Tim's hand. "Can you press your feet against Jimmy's hands for me?"

A collective sigh of relief went up when they all saw Jimmy's smile as his hands were pushed back.

"Good lad." Tim was breathing a little easier, but Ducky could read the unspoken plea in his eyes. "We'll have you out of here soon; I'll come with you to the hospital."

Tim smiled at that, he had been terrified that he'd be left alone. He griped Ducky's hand. "You won't leave me?"

"No Timothy; look the EMTs are here, we'll out of this dreadful place very soon. Jimmy, would you deal with the formalities here?"

"Of course Doctor. You go ahead; I'll take care of things."

After their initial shock on walking into the room, the EMTs had gone about their business with efficiency and professionalism. Tim had held on to Ducky's hand throughout, and only let go when they lifted him from the hateful stainless steel onto the gurney. Gibbs laid a firm hand on Tim's shoulder. "Carlin's dead Tim, the others too, they're not going to hurt you again; you hear me?" He could see the ghost of a smile beneath the mask.

"Loud and…clear Boss…"

They watched as he was wheeled away, and with a sigh Tony turned back to the room. "How much longer before…if Fox hadn't…"

"But he did Tony, we were in time, McGee is safe, nothing else matters, yes?"

Ziva couldn't tear her eyes away from the table, the blood-stained leather straps hanging limply on either side. "He fought so hard to escape."

"That he did; now let's get to work, this is a crime scene."

Jimmy stooped beside Carlin ready to check for a pulse; it would be a formality, but Doctor Mallard had asked him to deal with this, so he would do things correctly.

"Gibbs, tell your man not to waste his time, we can all see they're dead."

"Thanks to you Kort, we could have arrested Bicknell and Costello, taken them in for questioning…but you didn't want that did you?"

Kort shrugged his shoulders. "Remind me never to play poker with you Gibbs. But you should know as well as I, what I want has very little to do with what happened here. I told you before; Carlin's work has come to the attention of some very influential people. I was told they didn't want any loose ends, so here I am."

"Killing two unarmed men…"

"Who were about to kill Special Agent McGee; his life for theirs, that's a fair trade-off I would say."

Tony glanced at the three bodies, the dark pools of blood staining the white tiles on the floor; and for the first and probably last time in his life, he found himself agreeing with Trent Kort.

Gibbs had tried to maintain the integrity of his crime scene, but a call from Leon Vance telling them to back off left him in no doubt that what Kort has said was true. It was in someone's best interests to brush all this under the carpet, and Gibbs wasn't about to waste his energy trying to change things; they'd got to Tim in time, if the DoD, CIA or anyone else in the alphabet soup of agencies wanted to pretend Carlin never existed, let them…

"Are you alright Jethro?"

"Getting there Duck; I should be angry about Kort, the bodies being taken, but right now…"

"It doesn't seem important?"

"Maybe later I'll care, but here, now…no it doesn't."

Tim was sleeping, not exactly peacefully, but he was sleeping. The gash on his head, and the numerous bruises were livid against his pale skin. Everyone had been to visit, but Ducky had shooed them all away once they had seen for themselves that Tim would be okay. A night in hospital, just to be sure there was no concussion and he'd be released into Ducky's care in the morning.

Gibbs laid a soothing hand on Tim's forehead as he stirred in his sleep. "It's okay Tim, we're still here." He took another sip of his ever-present coffee and turned to Ducky. "Can he come back from this Duck? What he went through, waiting for them to…I can't even say it, and he had to live through it."

"I believe he can Jethro, and I believe he can come back even stronger than he was before. Do you know how he got those bruises? It wasn't from Carlin or his cohorts…he did it to himself; trying to render his brain useless to that sick bastard. Such strength of will…he kept himself alive as long as he could, long enough for you to get to him…I think this young man has reserves of strength deeper than any of us ever imagined, given time and support I know he will get through this."

"When I saw him…that table, the blood…I remembered when Vincent Hanlon took you…I almost lost you that day…and today it was Tim."

"Almost Jethro, it is the nature of what we do that we become targets, all of us. Had Timothy wanted an easy life I'm certain there are any number of computer companies he could have worked for; but he chose law enforcement with all its inherent risks."

"He's good at it too."

"Indeed he is…he had a good teacher."

"Duck…I'll stay with him tonight, you go home, get some sleep."

"I will not, have you ever known me to renege on a promise Jethro?"

"Guess not."

"And I'm not about to start now, I promised Timothy I would be here when he woke up, and here is where I stay."

"You up for some company Duck?"

"Always Jethro."

THE END

"_What a chimera then is man!_

_What a novelty!_

_What a monster!_

_What a chaos!_

_What a contradiction!_

_What a prodigy!_

_Judge of all things, feeble earthworm,_

_depository of truth, sink of uncertainty and error,_

_the glory and the shame of the universe."_

Blaise Pascal

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